(ANS – Turin) – In the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, from where Don Bosco on 11 November 1875 sent the first group of missionaries to Patagonia, the  Rector Major Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva gave the missionary mandate to the 140th Salesian missionary expedition.

Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Founding of the Salesian Congregation, this year’s missionary expedition has a particular significance Among those present at the Mass were a large number of young people who had finished the XXth in the series of Haramée, a meeting organised by the Italian Missionary Promotion group  in collaboration with the International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS).

The departing  missionaries, religious and lay volunteers, Fr Chávez recalled were like the group of young men who on 18 December 1859 decided to follow Don Bosco’s dream. “To be a missionary is in fact a gift of the Spirit who ceaselessly calls all Christians to be disciples, witnesses and apostles of the Crucified and Risen Lord, to go everywhere, even to the furthest ends of the earth, in order to proclaim the salvation which God has offered us in His Beloved Son and to translate it into a commitment to make the life of everyone more human by giving one’s own life in the fields of evangelisation, education, human development and social action.”

Fr Chávez recalled that Salesian missionaries, precisely because they are “signs and bearers of the love of God ,” are called with proclamation and witness, to make the presence of the Father visible. Commenting on the reading for the XXVI Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Rector Major mentioned several attitudes which missionaries are called to have at a time when the way of being missionaries has totally changed. Inter-religious  dialogue, ecumenism and inculturation  create new conditions for proclaiming the Gospel.

Referring to the first reading linked to the first part of the day’s Sunday Gospel, Fr Chávez said: “This is a marvellous reply of Moses to the over-zealous request of the young Joshua: the “Spirit” should not be imprisoned’”. This implies a two-fold sin : “the first against God, over Whom one wants to exercise some sort of control, He Who is the supremely “free one! The second against one’s brothers and sisters, whose capacity to respond to God’s plan we want to measure according to the standards we determine, almost as though we were the “lords” and not rather the “servants” of others.” Quoting “Lumen Gentium” he said: “The Second Vatican Council rediscovered the fundamental “prophetic” vocation  of “all” the Christian people based on the one faith and the one baptism.”

Jesus  educated the apostles not to consider themselves “possessors” of the truth, but “seekers” with everyone else. This is the way to become automatically “open” to all those who have something in common with us: at least the fact of being human, and if believers in Christ, also many aspects of the truth of faith”. “Jesus has established in anticipation the foundations for inter-religious “dialogue”  among peoples and for ’ “ecumenism” among Christians, which the Church has taken up with great clarity in these recent times.” Missionary activity therefore requires respect, dialogue, openness to others and a gradual approach.

In conclusion the IX successor of Don Bosco reminded the departing missionaries  that “Christianity is not a label but a way of life!”

After the homily, the missionaries, each called by name with their destination mentioned, received the crucifix. At the side of Fr Chávez was Mother Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General of the Daughters of Mary help of Christians. The celebration ended in front of the side altar of the Basilica  where the casket contained the mortal remains of Don Bosco are preserved. Here after a short moment of silence the Rector Major gave the final blessing.

Publshed 28/09/2009

The homily is available on the sdb.org site in Italian and English